91% Gimme The Loot

All Critics (57) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (5)

'Gimme the Loot' is ... meandering and a little shallow. And even at 79 minutes it feels a little too long for what's essentially the film equivalent of a short story.

A thousand-watt jolt of mischief, a spunky, funky, ebullient indie that packs its 81 minutes with cinematic exhilaration.

It may be a slight movie, but it has its sunny charms.

A movie about teenage taggers in the Bronx should be fast and raw, scruffy and loose, and Adam Leon's Gimme the Loot is just that.

As it lopes along, the movie offers a warm but very sharp portrait of New York's have-nots and their uneasy relationship with the haves.

"Gimme the Loot" shouldn't be as appealing and exuberant as it is, it really shouldn't.

First-time feature director Adam Leon's shots are precise and full of detail.

The film's strong suit is its use of locations.

The film is episodic and determinedly offbeat, funny at its best, boring at its worst.

Shot on the streets of New York in a loose, freeform style, this lively comedy-drama feels somewhat underdeveloped, leaving us doubtful about its realism.

It's a great deal of fun, emotionally touching, and even surprisingly old-fashioned.

Some of the movie doesn't exactly convince, and some of the scenes have an actors-improv feel to them, but there's always plenty of humour and energy.

Endlessly entertaining, refreshingly light-hearted and bursting with summer soul, Gimme The Loot joins the pantheon of great New York movies.

It's a shaggy dog story with a certain amount of charm but not nearly enough drama.

The movie is unpolished, and it matters not a jot, because Leon has written super roles for these kids and invests their relationship with such sly feeling.

Hickson walks the line between bravado and vulnerability, while Washington has a charisma, spark and beauty that should ensure this won't be the last we see of her.

Bolstered by a low-key but assured aesthetic and a soundtrack of vintage soul and doo-wop, the film is infectiously enjoyable, with frequently amusing insights and an affable shagginess.

Out of nowhere, Adam Leon might just have delivered the first great New York film of the decade.

Charming and engaging low-budget indie with a witty script, likeable characters, a strong sense of time and place and a pair of terrific performances from its two young leads.

Funny and freewheeling, it's a joy.

A slim, low-budget coming-of-age tale whose richness lies entirely in its interstices. A keenly observed work that celebrates the unfettered joys of youth, and rewards by reminding of the power of a simple tale told well.

Simultaneously real and hopeful, "Loot" has almost no plot, but when the setting is so fresh and the characters feel so raw and alive, who needs one?

Ghetto laughs with a sophisticated point of view.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gimme_the_loot_2012/

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